So here's a confession for you, but only because I'm PMS-y and I can't stuff the feelings down with chocolate because I'm pretty sure it's giving me heart palpitations lately:
I'm kind of lonely.
I miss my family and friends in Aylmer. Even though they're only half an hour away, it takes some planning to get together. There's no more of this spontaneous, "Let's have coffee! Right now! Because we're so close!" stuff going on. It's more like, "Are you free on the 12th? Let's sync our calendars" or, "I might be in your part of town next Wednesday. If there's time maybe we can get together" planning going on. But life is busy and plans don't always work out. So I miss my people. Lots.
In some ways, this move has been harder than I imagined it would be. Everybody in my semi-dysfunctional family goes off to school or work five days a week, and I'm left here with the dogs. That would be fine, except one dog farts all the time and the other barks at everything, so either I'm grossed out or annoyed all day. Then there's the cat, but she's just old and glares at me when I try to engage her her in conversation.
Mondays seem to be the hardest so far. After a weekend filled with boys and laughter and parks and fighting and me yelling at people to put their damn dishes in the dishwasher for once instead of leaving them on the counter to get loaded by the Invisible Domestic Fairy, the house feels so empty. Add to that some PMS, and today I'm feeling particularly low.
"So why don't you just make friends with the neighbours, Maven?"
Um, did you read last week's post? Obviously not, and shame on you for that. What is the meaning of your life if you're not keeping up with mine? Priorities.
"Why don't you stop staring at your phone and meet new moms and dads at the park or the school, Maven? You're all chatty and shit on the internet."
Because I'm stupidly shy around new people, that's why. Stop laughing. I'm serious. Public speaking doesn't count, because I rock that shit. I'm in my Happy Safe Bubble when I'm reading at a public event. But if I feel miles out of my comfort zone, I clam up tighter than virgins at a nunnery.
But it's not all doom and gloom, people. I'm making friends here.
Clearly. I mean, come on, now. The fact that I'm a kind of not really a big deal on the internet had to count for something, right?
There's the fabulous @PrincessDoubt who has been the best welcome committee a Maven could ask for. She's doubling as my social planner, which is great because I've been really busy unpacking and being shy around people. She's come over to check up on me, coaxed me out for coffee and surprisingly keeps wanting to spend more time with me. I think she has a weird-person fetish.
And then there's @Stephdesign who I met for the first time in person last week. The Starbucks barista decided we were destined to be friends and wrote as much on her cup.
She was right. We have a second coffee date coming up, which I think makes it pretty official.
And finally, my crowning achievement was getting @1qtnewf to agree to hang out with me yesterday. I heard her read a most captivating and honest piece of writing that moved the room at Blog Out Loud Ottawa a couple of years ago and informed the table I was sitting at that she and I were going to be good friends. "Do you know each other?" someone asked. "Nope," I replied. "But we will. And she will really like me." Then someone else might have mentioned stalking, but I was too busy planning out how she was going to learn to love me.
Two years and a fair bit of online harassment later, we finally had our first date. And it was awesome. She's totally into me. And who can blame her? I was very well behaved. Like, I talked about myself a lot, but I also asked her about her life and didn't always try to relate back to mine. And, while I admired her hair a great deal, I didn't even touch it once.
Anyway, it's not so bad here.
And it won't be long before I run out of Candy Crush levels and have to actually talk to people in real life that I don't already know on the internet.
I'm kind of lonely.
I miss my family and friends in Aylmer. Even though they're only half an hour away, it takes some planning to get together. There's no more of this spontaneous, "Let's have coffee! Right now! Because we're so close!" stuff going on. It's more like, "Are you free on the 12th? Let's sync our calendars" or, "I might be in your part of town next Wednesday. If there's time maybe we can get together" planning going on. But life is busy and plans don't always work out. So I miss my people. Lots.
In some ways, this move has been harder than I imagined it would be. Everybody in my semi-dysfunctional family goes off to school or work five days a week, and I'm left here with the dogs. That would be fine, except one dog farts all the time and the other barks at everything, so either I'm grossed out or annoyed all day. Then there's the cat, but she's just old and glares at me when I try to engage her her in conversation.
Mondays seem to be the hardest so far. After a weekend filled with boys and laughter and parks and fighting and me yelling at people to put their damn dishes in the dishwasher for once instead of leaving them on the counter to get loaded by the Invisible Domestic Fairy, the house feels so empty. Add to that some PMS, and today I'm feeling particularly low.
"So why don't you just make friends with the neighbours, Maven?"
Um, did you read last week's post? Obviously not, and shame on you for that. What is the meaning of your life if you're not keeping up with mine? Priorities.
"Why don't you stop staring at your phone and meet new moms and dads at the park or the school, Maven? You're all chatty and shit on the internet."
Because I'm stupidly shy around new people, that's why. Stop laughing. I'm serious. Public speaking doesn't count, because I rock that shit. I'm in my Happy Safe Bubble when I'm reading at a public event. But if I feel miles out of my comfort zone, I clam up tighter than virgins at a nunnery.
But it's not all doom and gloom, people. I'm making friends here.
Clearly. I mean, come on, now. The fact that I'm a kind of not really a big deal on the internet had to count for something, right?
There's the fabulous @PrincessDoubt who has been the best welcome committee a Maven could ask for. She's doubling as my social planner, which is great because I've been really busy unpacking and being shy around people. She's come over to check up on me, coaxed me out for coffee and surprisingly keeps wanting to spend more time with me. I think she has a weird-person fetish.
And then there's @Stephdesign who I met for the first time in person last week. The Starbucks barista decided we were destined to be friends and wrote as much on her cup.
 |
| How adorable is she? Totally sit-across-from-me-at-a-table worthy. |
She was right. We have a second coffee date coming up, which I think makes it pretty official.
And finally, my crowning achievement was getting @1qtnewf to agree to hang out with me yesterday. I heard her read a most captivating and honest piece of writing that moved the room at Blog Out Loud Ottawa a couple of years ago and informed the table I was sitting at that she and I were going to be good friends. "Do you know each other?" someone asked. "Nope," I replied. "But we will. And she will really like me." Then someone else might have mentioned stalking, but I was too busy planning out how she was going to learn to love me.
Two years and a fair bit of online harassment later, we finally had our first date. And it was awesome. She's totally into me. And who can blame her? I was very well behaved. Like, I talked about myself a lot, but I also asked her about her life and didn't always try to relate back to mine. And, while I admired her hair a great deal, I didn't even touch it once.
 |
| Okay, maybe a little when I took the picture. Also, how freakishly big is my head?! |
Anyway, it's not so bad here.
And it won't be long before I run out of Candy Crush levels and have to actually talk to people in real life that I don't already know on the internet.